Health Notes

Japanese scientists claim to have used fat and stem cells to increase the bust sizes in more than 40 women.

The technique uses fat from the stomach or thigh which is then enriched with stem cells before being injected. It's billed as boosting the bust by two cups while providing a more natural-looking alternative to artificial implants filled with salt water or silicone.

The stem cells are capable of making new fat cells.

But critics say a breast implant equivalent can't grow from stem cells and a fat transfer can give a lumpy effect.

Vasectomies linked to dementia

Men who have had a vasectomy may face a higher risk of developing a rare type of dementia marked by a steady loss of language skills, according to research published in the journal Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology.

Researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois linked the male sterilization surgery to a neurological condition called primary progressive aphasia, or PPA. The study involved 47 men with the condition and as 57 men who did not have PPA. Their ages ranged from 55 to 80.

Of those with primary progressive aphasia, 40 percent had undergone a vasectomy, compared to 16 percent of the others. Those with PPA also suffered the ailment an average of four years earlier than the others.

Future studies involving more people are planned. Until then, researchers say the findings should not stop men from getting vasectomies.

Strep throat and psychiatric disorders

University of Florida researchers found a link between strep infections in children and involuntary movements and disruptive behaviors associated with some psychiatric disorders.

In an eight-month study of 693 children, researchers found that shortly after the number of strep infections in the group increased, there was a corresponding rise in involuntary movements and disruptive behaviors, symptoms that could indicate a neurological cause.

Researchers said the study, published in the Journal of Biological Psychiatry, didn't indicate actual disorders were present in the children, but the symptoms were there.

Some scientists think a host of problems such as tics, personality change, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder may be triggered by strep infections in some children. The theory is called PANDAS - Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcus.

Scientists suspect the type of infection that causes strep throat in some people, but occurs without symptoms in others, may cause the body's immune system to interact with brain cells that cause psychiatric symptoms in a small percentage of young patients.